In the Bleak Midwinter
by Inkblot0Blue
Summary: "You know, Miles Edgeworth, you're not half the fool you seem." Far away from anywhere and anyone they know, Miles and Franziska have a long-awaited and much-needed introspective discussion.


**A/N: **So, this is an experimental work in many senses. The idea came about whilst writing something else and it was just too good to ignore. And while we're at it, I was inspired by some excellent works (namely madsengland; yuripaws; and MaudMoon all on AO3) and the Narumitsu week prompts/writing suggestions (namely the prompt 'Feelings' with the challenge of making this dialogue only) on the Discord server.

This isn't quite Narumitsu per se, but hopefully this introspective discussion will force Miles to think about his feelings for Phoenix which will then lead to the current-day situation where he's got a lovely partner and daughter.

Of course, do keep in mind this work has **major AAI and AAI2 spoilers** so I highly recommend playing those two games beforehand.

* * *

**December 28, 2021, 10:19 PM**

**Gatewater International Suite 23**

**Skande, Borginia**

* * *

"...Miles Edgeworth."

_"...Franziska. Good evening. Please, come in."_

"Is that Gustav Holst, I hear?"

_"Hm? Ah yes, it is. It being the season and all, the Borginian State Radio seems to be broadcasting nothing else._

_Shall I turn it off?"_

"No. You may keep it on."

_"Alright then."_

_"...Well, would you care for something to drink?_

_The hotel staff were very kind to supply me with all manner of hot beverages. Tea, coffee, cocoa…"_

"Cocoa please."

_"Alright. I'll join you then. It's been...some time since I last had it."_

_"Shi-Long swears by it, you know."_

"I wouldn't have thought it to be his beverage."

_"No. But I suppose that reminds us that there is always more than meets the eye."_

"I see he's not with you."

_"No. He's...taking some vacation time to visit family back home."_

_"But...I noticed — while I do not care for such events — we're coming up on our—_

_Here you are_

"Thank you."

_—one year anniversary."_

"...Are you?"

_"Hm. I'm sure he'll want to celebrate it in some manner, though that remains to be seen."_

"Do you want him to celebrate it?"

_"I don't know. I've...never been one to make events out of things."_

"Hm."

_"That said, I suppose I ought to give it a go; there's always a first time for everything."_

"And it is only one day for which you can be foolishly sentimental."

_"I suppose."_

"But... by the sound of it, it seems to be more than simply never being interested in celebrations, Little Brother."

_"...What do you mean?"_

"Never mind."

_"Hm."_

_"Speaking of foolish sentimentality, as you put it, all this reminds of me of those long winter nights; the fire, the radio, and the blizzard raging outside…"_

_"I don't suppose you've kept up with your musical interests."_

"No, I haven't had the time.

But...Helena seems insistent on Johanna taking up the violin."

_"Oh, have you spoken to them recently?"_

"I had to endure Christmas with them.

And Pierre is as much a fool as ever."

_"Ah._

_Johanna must be a teenager now, surely?"_

"Yes. Thirteen."

_"I don't suppose she's joining the line of prodigies?"_

"...Hmph, I doubt it."

"And in any case, they are not von Karmas."

_"...Right."_

"You sound hesitant there, Little Brother."

_"More like tired; I have just arrived from a conference in Cohdopia."_

"And how was it?"

_"Well, I don't suppose you remarked on this whilst you were there but...Primidux reminded me very much of Berlin."_

"That's hardly surprising."

_"Well, they both share this...chaotic nature that only arises from places that have been ripped apart and resewn together._

_...Don't you agree?"_

"...I think I do see what you mean."

_"Ironic, isn't it? I believe myself to be a man of order and yet I am greeted by chaos wherever I go."_

"Well, I haven't heard of you stumbling onto a crime scene lately."

_"Nngh, I suppose not."_

"...Did you meet with Colias Palaeno?"

_"No, as I had no need to but...I did read about him in the papers._

_Apparently he's foreign minister now, and even purported to become the next prime minister."_

"Somehow I can see that working very well for him."

_"He's clearly a very hard-working man, even if I may have found his insistence that we visit his country a bit...much."_

"He's not a fool."

_"No, no, I have much respect for him. His job cannot be an easy one._

_In fact, while I was there, I wondered…"_

"Yes?"

_"I wondered whether you had come any closer to that answer of yours._

_You said that for all the authority you had, you could not determine Quercus Alba's motives behind running a smuggling ring."_

"And? You want me to answer that now?"

_"If you have one."_

"...In a word: power."

_"I see."_

"Do you?"

"_Well...it is a cliché assumption, but those who find themselves in positions of power tend to want more of it. So they cling onto it by any means necessary."_

_"Of course...Absolute power corrupts absolutely."_

"Hm…"

"...As in the case with Papa."

_"...Yes."_

"...Hmph. It's foolish."

_"What is?"_

"...Surely, Miles Edgeworth, after all we've been through, you'd think I wouldn't seize up at any mention of him."

"...I still bear his name, don't I?"

_"You bear his name, yes._

_But you are not him."_

"Is that where your hesitation came in earlier?"

_"I—"_

"Well, I suppose it could be said that neither of us are von Karmas."

_"So you admit to that now, do you?"_

"Perhaps. But...what more is there to say?

My father killed yours twenty years ago today."

_"It was a little more complicated than that."_

"Yes, I _know_."

"And anyway, haven't we discussed this before?"

_"Not that I recall, no."_

"Ah, it was because of your foolish disappearing act."

"...Hmph."

_"What?"_

"You know...I can never figure you out, Miles Edgeworth; you never...speak. You listen, but never contribute to what's being said."

_"I hardly think that's accurate."_

"Not speaking is precisely what made you run away in the first place.

And again.

And again.

How am I supposed to know how you are, Miles Edgeworth, if you do not speak of yourself?"

_"I—"_

_"Fine. Let's speak of this then, Franziska."_

_"...Do you remember what you said the day of your father's funeral?"_

_"You said that I was a fool and a coward, and that you were neither of those things."_

"I remember."

_"I wonder now, if your stance on that has changed."_

_"Naturally...we were both young then, and perhaps quite naive to spend the time in one another's company…_

_To stand side by side in the bleak midwinter and somehow mourn the loss of a murderer."_

"You didn't mourn him."

_"That's true. I didn't."_

_"But his death didn't leave me unscathed."_

"Your disappearing act."

_"...You know, I really did consider disappearing."_

"...I am aware.

But I didn't think you foolish enough to go through with it."

_"What faith you had in me."_

"I wouldn't call it faith.

Stubbornness would be a more suitable word for it."

_"In any case, his death forced me to pose some questions."_

_"Chief of all being...What did he have to gain from taking a boy away from all he's ever known into moulding him into his image?_

_And unfortunately the only answer I could come up with was...pure spite."_

_"You know how he made damn sure to let me know I was not a von Karma. That I would always be an outsider, and unwelcome._

_I was a constant reminder to him of the man he killed._

_An Edgeworth...who could never become a von Karma."_

"...I understand your points, but...

You are free now, Miles. It does not do you well to torture yourself with these thoughts."

"...He tortured you long enough."

_"...Where do you stand with Manfred von Karma?"_

"Papa was...Papa. I knew of nothing else for a long time.

As I grew older, my resentment and hatred of you increased."

_"I know."_

"I viewed you as a usurper. An outside challenge to the von Karma creed. A man who could never be perfect.

In essence, he made you into a demon and I was angry that you had come to claim that title while I was forced to stay in the shadows.

This little girl who would never amount to anything, who would always be cast aside in favour of the man."

_"And I was thankful to him at the time. For making me into one."_

"Yes…but it is foolish, isn't it?"

"The truth is, I don't hate you, Miles Edgeworth."

"I pity you."

_"You... _pity _me?"_

"Don't sound so patronising."

_"That was not my intention."_

"You know I never say anything I don't mean."

"I am...sorry that you weren't provided the chance to become the man you may have been."

_"But to say that would mean to erase you from my life, Franziska._

_And despite all we've been through — or rather, as a result of our shared experiences — I...I do still consider you my sister."_

"...Hm."

"But, in the end, what does it really matter?"

"I would argue in fact that it wasn't out of spite that Papa took you in but pettiness. And that pettiness ruined him."

"...I would _never_ be that petty."

_"Then you're hardly like your father, Franziska, even if you bear the name."_

_"And, well, it goes to show that we're not guaranteed to become like our fathers."_

"It certainly demands a degree of self-awareness to avoid such a fate, though. For not everyone makes a conscious decision to continue family cycles."

_"Yes...Shi-Long comes to mind there. For him, there is no question of not continuing the family cycle. It is his family's duty to serve, and serve he shall."_

"And equally Kay Faraday."

_"Yes, in some sense that remains true for her."_

_"...But certain individuals can fall victim to their own self-awareness. Or the illusion thereof."_

"Like Simon Keyes; self awareness was something he only thought he had."

_"Exactly my point."_

_"And in his case, he was also a victim to the contradictions in the law._

_So as unjustifiable as his actions were, one cannot ignore the fact that...the law failed him."_

"Indeed."

_"...On the other hand, there are others who are not so much victims of their self awareness, but...who become self-aware over time."_

"Like whom?"

_"Sebastian Debeste."_

"Sebastian Debeste?"

_"You remember Sebastian, don't you?_

_Blaise Debeste's son."_

"...Yes, I do."

_"...He could have just as easily turned out like us."_

"However, he did not."

_"Exactly. Because Sebastian was nurtured. _We _did not have that luxury."_

_"You and I served as a means to an end."_

"A competitive means to an end."

_"Exactly._

_You were competing with me for validation that...we would never receive. Much as Sebastian throughout his life attempted to seek validation from his incorrigible father."_

"A parallel."

"_Quite_."

_"But...for Sebastian, and many others like him, to have that opportunity to be nurtured, an alternative pathway has to be provided for them."_

"An alternative pathway?"

_"They need something or someone to challenge them; to provide them some perspective on life or to force them to think differently._

_Which in turn provides them with the opportunity to reflect on themselves and what they want in life."_

_"But because you and I didn't get that opportunity from...such a young age, the onus of personal growth was on us. Ourselves."_

"So…

As a result of our lack of nurturing, our opportunities for reflection would naturally take more...unorthodox means?"

_"...In a sense, yes."_

_"But...said change has to come from within."_

"You said earlier you had truly considered disappearing."

_"I had, at first."_

_"For a long time."_

_"I only came to a...realisation, if you will, some months after that."_

"How so?"

_"I was...in London, at the Lincoln's Inn Library._

_I'd been poring over some...legal text or other; the material something to do with exposing legal loopholes."_

_"But I recall...that I felt this strong sense of discomfort."_

"Discomfort?"

_"I was uncomfortable with myself as both a prosecutor and a person."_

_"As a prosecutor, I was uncomfortably aware of how I would've previously interpreted that text; twisted and warped it to suit my definition of the law._

_Or rather, your father's definition of it."_

"And those of Damon Gant and Blaise Debeste."

_"In retrospect, I can count them too."_

_"And, yes, discomfort with myself and my sense of the truth:_

_How many innocent people had I condemned?_

_How much longer would I have run along this path?_

_And...would I ever have changed, if...that man had never come into my life?"_

"Phoenix Wright."

_"...Yes, among others."_

"Hmph. He was your saviour then."

_"...Yes."_

_"And...the sight of him still shines brilliantly in my eyes."_

"Even after…?"

_"Yes._

_And you know as well as I do that he would never..."_

"No, even I wouldn't consider him so foolish as to stoop to that level."

"But returning to that experience — of having a saviour, if you will — that's on you, not me."

_"I suppose."_

"...I cannot help but notice that you speak very differently of him than you do of Lang."

"...Tell me."

_"What?"_

"Are you happy with Shi-Long Lang?"

_"...Yes, I think so._

_We are comfortable."_

"Comfort is not a word I would associate with you at all, Miles Edgeworth."

_"What do you mean?"_

"You said it yourself: you are in fact a man of chaos."

"I wonder, could it perhaps be that...in your relationship with Lang, you are compensating for something else?"

_"...I don't understand."_

_"Nor did I ask for commentary on my relationship with him."_

_"Or with Wright."_

"Perhaps not. But maybe this'll give you some things to think about for yourself moving forward."

"_Hm_."

"You mentioned others...who had 'saved' you."

_"I don't think I can comment on all of them at this moment, and in any case, I would say they 'saved' me in quite that literal sense…"_

"I do not care; indulge me."

_"Very well then."_

_"...Kay and Sebastian come to mind first."_

"Oh?"

_"They...consider me a father figure to them."_

"That doesn't surprise me. You did discuss the importance of nurture earlier."

_"Yes, and...I'm very proud of the people they've become."_

_"Sebastian is an excellent young man._

_He took your advice to heart, you know, and he was absolutely formidable in his fight against Blaise Debeste."_

"That is...reassuring.

I did say he would be tested."

_"And he's come out stronger._

_He's...conscientious. Caring. Resilient. Always makes sure to achieve 'the best verdict' for those that find themselves in the defendant's chair._

_He's a sign of hope; of what might be for our legal system._

_In fact, his growth has been so exponential that I'm considering recommending him for promotion to the status of High Prosecutor."_

"Is that so?"

_"Of course, I'll need to take him to a few more conferences and seminars to really broaden his horizons but...yes."_

_"And Kay…"_

"She has been emailing me on occasion."

_"Then you'll know she's in France now, working on getting her degree."_

"Does she know what she'll pursue afterwards?"

_"We did discuss this a few weeks ago, hence why I said she doesn't quite feel that pressure to 'continue the family cycle', as it were._

_She says she's looking into entering the police academy and working through the ranks to eventually considering going for Interpol._

_Or...she might consider the career of a defense attorney."_

"Interesting choices."

_"Indeed._

_But either way, she does intend to always 'steal the truth', so to speak."_

"She could even choose not to pursue a career in law enforcement."

_"Exactly, and the important thing to note here is that...she has that choice._

_Regardless of the path she chooses, I will continue to support her."_

"Does she know who she'll study under if she goes down the route of defense attorney?"

_"Raymond Shields, I believe."_

"That foolish man with a penchant for public displays of affection?"

_"Whilst I agree with you on that latter point, I'd argue Raymond isn't a fool._

_The fact that he was able to own up to his biased view of me...That earned my respect._

_He is a great asset in this fight to redeem the law's reputation, as tarnished as it is now what with…"_

"The disbarment."

_"Yes, well, I'm afraid that's been the catalyst…_

_As well as some other instances that I'll discuss another time."_

_"But I'd also add Raymond to the list of people who forced me to change my perspective on things."_

"Another saviour then?

_"Again, not quite._

_However, it was Raymond who forced my hand essentially; he provided me with the tools to question myself and my role as a prosecutor."_

_"That was why I momentarily resigned."_

"I thought it was a very foolish and dangerous thing then."

_"You say that, but there was no question about my resignation; was I going to value a mere badge over the life of a dear friend?_

_In another time I might have been so heartless as to go for protecting my badge and my reputation._

_But those things can always be resurrected from the dead, or an alternative career path sought…_

_Friends and family, however...those bonds are priceless._

_And...Raymond helped me gain a better understanding of Gregory Edgeworth."_

"Your father."

_"My father."_

"...He was a decent man."

_"He was."_

_"And...a very determined one at that. Learning more about him in my later life has...been a great asset to how I view myself and my philosophy on life."_

"Oh?"

_"Even until his last moments, my father ran along his own path._

_I, too, shall advance along mine._

_...Accompanied by my somewhat boisterous comrades._

_For as long as they are by my side, I can walk forward without hesitation…_

_On my path as a prosecutor."_

"I see."

_"But I'm forgetting one more person who did indeed save me."_

"Who would that be?"

"_You_."

"...Don't make me laugh."

_"I assure you I'm not joking._

_I said earlier that it was as a direct result of our shared experiences that I still consider you to be my sister._

_You were present during my formative years, even as your father was exerting his ideological influence on us._

_You were — and are — the only one who can comprehend and relate to those times we went through._

_Helena can't. Wright can't. Nor can my other boisterous comrades._

_Only you can."_

_"After all, you were the one who gave me Little Bear to help with those nightmares."_

"...Bärchen?"

_"I still have him."_

_"And there are plenty more instances like that, that shaped my view of you._

_So...I understand now why I am your little brother._

_Not out of childlike ignorance or spite or some attempt to see me as 'less than'._

_But rather...because you felt a need to protect me, didn't you?_

_To be the big sister I needed."_

"...You know, Miles Edgeworth, you're not half the fool you seem."

_"Coming from you, I'll take that as a compliment."_

"Hmph."

_"And I must say, you've done very well for yourself, Franziska._

_You're...stronger._

_You've...become yourself._

_You're running along your own prosecutor's path, as it were."_

"Well, we're both just trying to live for the future now."

_"Indeed."_

"And with that...I shall retire to bed before Gustav Holst sickens me."

_"Yes, this movement does seem to go on forever, doesn't it?"_

"Venus from The Planets."

_"You're quite right; it's Venus, the Bringer of Peace. How very fitting."_

_"...Thank you for this conversation, Franziska."_

"Not at all...Little Brother."

_"...I suppose I'd better say goodnight then. I'll see you in the morning then, won't I?"_

"Yes. At breakfast. Eight o'clock sharp."

_"As you wish."_

_"...Good night, Franziska."_

"Good night...Miles."

* * *

**A/N:** Goes without saying but feedback is much appreciated!


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